Preview: Aberdeen vs Kilmarnock - prediction, team news, lineups

Aberdeen will strive to extend their six-game unbeaten streak in the Scottish Premiership when they take on Kilmarnock on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts are sixth in the standings with 21 points from 15 fixtures, while the visitors are 10th in the table with 12 points from 16 matches.

Match preview

Aberdeen ended the 2024-25 campaign in spectacular fashion, dramatically defeating Celtic 4-3 on penalties in the Scottish League Cup final after a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes of action.

Jimmy Thelin would have hoped to carry the momentum from their cup triumph into the 2025-26 season, but the Dons failed to build on their success in the opening months of the new term.

The Dons picked up just one win from their opening 11 matches across all competitions - a 3-0 win against lower-league Greenock Morton in the Scottish League Cup - while they suffered a miserable eight defeats, including their elimination from the Europa League qualifiers and the cup.

Aberdeen also failed to win any of their first six Scottish Premiership fixtures, drawing one and losing five, before finally securing much-needed wins against Dundee and St Mirren on matchday seven and eight.

While they initially fell back into their early-season losing ways, with defeats to AEK Athens and Hibernian, Aberdeen have subsequently enjoyed a much more fruitful run of results in all competitions, remaining undefeated in the following eight.

Thelin's side recorded four wins and four draws during that time, with their 14-point tally in the Scottish Premiership in that time lifting them to sixth in the standings, but their run finally came to an end during midweek as they were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Strasbourg in the Conference League.

That loss to the French outfit confirmed Aberdeen's disappointing elimination from the league phase, as they trail the top 24 by five points with just one game remaining, and Thelin will be desperate for his side to quickly put that defeat behind them and avoid a repeat of their early season form.

With that in mind, Aberdeen's matchup with Kilmarnock could not come at a better time for the hosts, as the visitors head into this game without a win in their last nine outings, a run that features seven defeats and just two draws.

Killie initially had an encouraging start to the campaign under Stuart Kettlewell, who was appointed during the summer, as the side remained undefeated in normal time in their first nine matches across all competitions - with four wins and a draw in the Scottish League Cup and four draws in the league.

Kilmarnock eventually suffered their first defeat on matchday five to Celtic, devastatingly conceding a 96th-minute winner to Kelechi Iheanacho, followed by their elimination from the Scottish League Cup in a quarter-final penalty defeat to St Mirren.

Although they responded well with two wins in their next two games, a 3-0 loss to Hearts on matchday eight has sparked a miserable run of form for Killie, who are now without a win in their last nine outings.

Kettlewell's outfit have lost seven and drawn just two games in that time, meaning they have slipped down the standings into 10th, joint on 12 points with 11th-placed Dundee and only four points above Livingston at the foot of the table.

With the pressure rising on the manager to end their winless run and turn the situation around, Kettlewell will be desperate for his side to compound Aberdeen's European misery with a win on Sunday.

History is certainly against the travelling team, though, as Kilmarnock have won just one of their last 11 visits to Pittodrie Stadium, suffering eight defeats in that time.

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:

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Aberdeen form (all competitions):

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Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form:

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Kilmarnock form (all competitions):

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Team News

Aberdeen will be without Kristers Tobers and Gavin Molloy for Sunday's matchup with Kilmarnock due to ongoing injury issues.

Following their European elimination during midweek, Thelin may opt to make several changes to his starting 11 in search for a response when they take on Killie.

As a result, the likes of Alfie Dorrington, Kevin Nisbet and Graeme Shinnie could come into the starting side, with Mats Knoester, Nicky Devlin and Topi Keskinen potentially dropping out of the side.

Meanwhile, Djenario Daniels, Jamie Brandon, Kyle Magennis, Matthew Kennedy and Max Stryjek are unavailable due to fitness problems, while manager Kettlewell will also be absent from the touchline following his red card last weekend.

Another lacklustre result may mean the manager opts to make more changes in search of the answer to their problems, meaning players such as Tom Lowery, Tyreece John-Jules and Ben Brannan could feature from kick off.

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Mitov; Dorrington, Milne, Shinnie; Lobban, Aouchiche, Armstrong, Jensen; Lazetic, Karlsson; Nisbet

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:

Oluwayemi; Brannan, Mayo, Deas, Thompson; Lowery, Anderson, Watson, Tiffoney; John-Jules

We say: Aberdeen 2-0 Kilmarnock

Aberdeen's confidence may have been struck by their European elimination, but they have been significantly improved in recent weeks and are undefeated in their last six Scottish Premiership fixtures.

Meanwhile, Kilmarnock have failed to win any of their last nine matches, leading us to believe the Dons will extend their unbeaten domestic run with a comfortable home win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.